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UCSC outdoes Cal on 4/20

When you were accepted to Cal, the first thing everyone said ― hopefully after “congratulations!” ― was something like, “Oh, you want to become a pot-smoking hippie?” Not everyone asked you that, but we bet there was at least one family member or friend who heard the name “Berkeley” and associated it with marijuana. Their assumptions were proven wrong, though, because Cal didn’t go all out this 4/20. Another UC campus did.

UC Santa Cruz ― our “hippie” affiliate to the south ― outdid Cal in pot-aphilia this 4/20. Police officers confiscated a 2.5 pound joint from UCSC students. It leaves us asking: Why did this happen in Santa Cruz and not Berkeley? Why did Santa Cruz become the winningest UC at hosting 4/20? How did one police officer become the “pied piper” ― as one YouTuber commented ― of Santa Cruz students as he marched off with the enormous bundle?

Maybe it was because at Cal, we’re already stressed out about upcoming finals, while Santa Cruz can chill out until June. Maybe it was because Cal Day brought kid-friendly “Oski Land” to Memorial Glade during Saturday morning and afternoon. Maybe everyone in Berkeley’s not as enthusiastic about weed as we thought (doubt that). Whatever it was, 4/20 this year wasn’t quite as “interesting” at Cal as we hear it has been in previous years. Sure, we heard everyone cheered and smoked a bit at 4:20 p.m., but if you walked by any later than that, all you saw was a huge group of students enjoying the Antlers concert.

We’re definitely not saying that everyone in Berkeley should have rolled up a joint — especially a 2.5-pounder — on Saturday. There are plenty of people at Cal who aren’t into that, of course. But 4/20 seemed like a big deal for Berkeley, and it looks like another UC might have outdone us. We’ll get ’em next year.

About this blog

The Daily Clog (Cal+Blog) accumulates various tidbits about Berkeley and college life. We focus on the UC campus, the city of Berkeley and Berkeley’s online community. We give our two cents on all the goings-on.